Watch out for deer - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

lcsdoug · 12-03-2019, 07:33 AM

There are over 20,000 deer - auto crashes every year in Wisconsin. This was mine. It's very unnerving. On country roads they come out of nowhere. This was at about 5o mph not counting the last second panic braking. Amazingly the deer ran off. He survived the deer hunt season just to run into me. Now comes the negotiations with the insurance company. Hopefully I can hold out for OEM parts. Not sure how that works. Frunk hood also has small crease. Bummer.

Brian in Tucson · 12-03-2019, 08:37 AM

Glad you're okay.

urban · 12-03-2019, 01:36 PM

Good luck on that!

Subman · 12-03-2019, 02:21 PM

Glad it wasn't worse. I watch for them closely, especially on my bikes.

Up here (and maybe where you are too) moose are an even bigger worry. Damn swamp donkeys are nearly black and at dusk/dawn almost impossible to see coming out of the woods.

MrBen · 12-03-2019, 08:40 PM

You can consider yourself fortunate. People have been killed when a deer comes through the windshield and thrashes around inside the vehicle. Not to mention loose of control. My county and the one next door lead the state in car deer crashes. I never ride my Harley later in the evening after September for that very reason

BoxMann · 12-09-2019, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBen

People have been killed when a deer comes through the windshield and thrashes around inside the vehicle.

WOW, never knew that. I knew that people have been killed hitting deer, but didn't know it ever happened that way.

kk2002s · 12-09-2019, 11:03 AM

You are certainly very fortunate. I see carcasses all over driving through the farm lands and of course the live ones I miss. I'm always thinking that it's just a matter of time until it it's my turn. I have been riding off road motorcycles and it's a problem in the woods as well. They fly across the trail all the time. A couple weeks ago I was riding with a group through the woods, 30 - 35 mph when one flew across the trail 1-2 bike lengths in front of me. They have been known to broad side riders. Can't see them coming because they just blend in until they are in front of you.

Good luck getting your baby back together again. At least it's winter time so you'll not lose much good driving weather.

Frodo · 12-09-2019, 02:03 PM

Yeah, I've had an occasional close call with deer. The worst? Was within 1/2 mile from home and, as usually seems to be the case, one totally unexpectedly bounds across the road in front of me. He was super close—all I had time to do was lift the accelerator foot. As I've told people before when talking about the near-miss, if I'd been sitting on the frunk up by the left headlight I could have smacked him in the arse as he went by.

I was only doing maybe 35-40 mph. If I had been going any faster, I'd have nailed him.

thstone · 12-03-2019, 09:35 PM

Wow! Glad that you're ok. That is what matters most. We can complain about the insurance process another day.

lcsdoug · 12-04-2019, 01:28 PM

Well cars in the shop. They said it may take 3 weeks just to get parts. They promised it will be just like new when they're done. This place has a great reputation. When I told my insurance agent where I was taking it they didn't even ask for an estimate. I told them I wasn't worried about the time just the end result. Thanks for all your well wishes.
I'll let you know what happens.

Anker · 12-10-2019, 01:13 PM

Many years ago I was driving on the highway at night with the low beams on when a whole flock of standing deer appeared in the headlights right ahead of me. They tried to run, but their hooves just skidded on the pavement. Fortunately they did gain enough traction and I braked hard enough to avoid a collision, but it was really, really close!

Frodo · 12-10-2019, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anker

Many years ago I was driving on the highway at night with the low beams on when a whole flock of standing deer appeared in the headlights right ahead of me. They tried to run, but their hooves just skidded on the pavement. Fortunately they did gain enough traction and I braked hard enough to avoid a collision, but it was really, really close!

Damn near had the same problem with a big ol' herd of geese one time!

Oldcarguy · 12-11-2019, 05:45 AM

My wife recently hit a deer on the state two lane road near our house. Her speed was around 35-40 mph and it was a direct frontal hit. Deer bolted out of the woods directly in front of her car. No damage to hood or front fenders but it took out the bumper shroud, grill, a/c condenser, etc. No headlight damage. 2014 Audi S5 cab in showroom condition. $6,400 to repair. Looks like new, body shop did a great job and my insurance company was responsive.

I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was a kid and central/upper NYS is beautiful but the deer are unreal. Really detracts from the experience.

Gilles · 12-11-2019, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldcarguy

I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was a kid and central/upper NYS is beautiful but the deer are unreal. Really detracts from the experience.

Fred, many years ago I was living in Colorado (many deer as well..) and back then my motorcycle riding friends used a gizmo (kind of whizzle, only audible to animals) that you installed on the fork and produced a high pitch sound with the moving airflow to alert the deer.

Perhaps was a novelty back then (that didn't work) as I have not heard anything about it since then..

MrBen · 12-11-2019, 08:44 PM

Here in Michigan those deer whistles are still pretty common. Don't know how well they work but somebody is making a few bucks off them

Oldcarguy · 12-12-2019, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilles

Fred, many years ago I was living in Colorado (many deer as well..) and back then my motorcycle riding friends used a gizmo (kind of whizzle, only audible to animals) that you installed on the fork and produced a high pitch sound with the moving airflow to alert the deer.

Perhaps was a novelty back then (that didn't work) as I have not heard anything about it since then..

Hi Gilles, when I was growing up in central Texas my dad used those on all his cars, trucks and bikes. They’re still available.

In fact I have a powered, active deer ‘pinger’ on my R1100S which I use unless I’m in town. Same controversy about whether it works but I figure it can’t hurt. It actually emits a complex, multi-tiered sound that is pretty weird and intrusive when you’re trying to enjoy a peaceful ride. No good solutions I guess.

Racer Boy · 12-12-2019, 07:54 AM

Since everyone is sharing their deer stories, here is mine. I was on a motorcycle trip in Utah with some buddies and it was late in the day. We were headed to the small town of Torrey, and it was getting dark. Since I only had a tinted visor, I had taken off from the rest of the group and was going about 80 - 85 mph trying to get to Torrey while I could still see.

As I was going through Capitol Reef Nat'l Park, I saw a sign that said "Cliff Paintings". I was looking to my right trying to see any paintings on the cliffs as I sped by, when something suddenly flashed by my vision. I looked back in my mirror, and there was a herd of deer standing in the road that I had just blasted through. It was dumb luck that I hadn't hit any of them!

That was one of my nine lives used up right then.

lcsdoug · 12-12-2019, 08:46 AM

Garage still not done with quote. Still rounding up parts.

Not surprised with all the close calls. Kind of a way of life in Wisconsin and we're only 6th on the deer accident list. My brother-in-law was visiting from Texas and we were out on some country road and there was a warning sign with a picture of a buck and "Deer Crossing" on the bottom. He looked at me kind of funny and said "How do they know?". HeHe

SMK Shoe · 12-14-2019, 06:14 PM

Hit two different ones last year with a new Toyota Tundra, one took out front bumper, and misc parts. ( used as excuse to get aftermarket bumper), second one a few months later, RAN into me. It was standing on the side of the road in a turn,, just as I was next to it, it rammed the passenger side. 2800$ worth of damage from a 120lb deer.

lcsdoug · 01-13-2020, 12:51 PM

Got it back just before Christmas. Total bill was $7500, I just paid the deductible. All OEM parts. New fender, headlight and hood. Also when they were refinishing the front bumper they found some body filler. They removed that and repaired it with fiberglass. Looks great. Of course the drivers headlight is now much clearer than the passenger side.
Now one of my projects for the winter was to fix the lousy radio reception. I was going to replace the rf preamp in the pillar and redo the ground and antenna connections. Evidently when they put in the new windshield they correctly repaired those connections because the radio works fine now. Just need to replace those sticky knobs. All in all I'm a happy camper. Just a bit paranoid driving on my country roads.